07/09/2019 / Last updated : 02/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Oboke, Iya and Mima in Tokushima　大歩危、祖谷、美馬

November 2018, Oboke Valley 　大歩危 Our plan for the morning is to climb Mt. Tsurugi but, the forecast is cloud and we can see the mist hanging over the peaks in the distance. So, we postpone the climb for a day. As an alternative, we decide to drive the Oboke valley. This is a disappointment, as the valley is difficult to appreciate from the road and the only access points appear to be boat tour stations. Boat tours are popular, perhaps, the only way to view this valley. Iya no Kazurabashi We continue on to visit the famous vine bridge at Iya no Kazurabashi. On arrival, we decide we don’t […]

02/09/2019 / Last updated : 05/02/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Shikoku Karst Road, Godan and Tengu Highlands　四国カルスト

November 2018, Mikawa michi-no-eki Leaving Tenku no Sato Sanan, we take R. 33 along the river valley towards Kouchi. We stop to look at Mikawa michi-no-eki. This would be an excellent place to stay. It has access to the river which flows blue. As we progress, the valley becomes increasingly spectacular. Just beyond Mikawa michi-no-eki is a huge crag, sitting in the river reminiscent of Gunkanjima (Mitsukejima) in Noto Hanto. (Gunkan is battleship, and the island resembles a ship heading directly for the beach.) Later the road takes us higher and higher and the valley becomes so steep and narrow that it is impossible to see the river in the […]

13/05/2019 / Last updated : 12/02/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Sakaiminato – Kitaro town　境港

Day 91, December 2016, Michi no eki Kaze no Ie It is a cold, foggy morning with ice not just on the windscreen but the whole vehicle is encased in a thin layer. The wooden decking, attractively fronting the toilet area, is treacherous. Kaze no Ie michi no eki is noted for its large vegetable market. A few people are arriving to shop, but it is closed. It shut for the winter on the 1st of December. We drive to Sakaiminato and the temperature rises by 10 degrees as we descend to sea level. The area around Mt. Daisen is very pleasant. There are steep valleys, wide river beds and […]

12/05/2019 / Last updated : 11/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Kurashiki and Hiruzen Highlands　倉敷、蒜山高原

Day 90, December 2016, A blustery morning with leaves flying everywhere, the michi no eki Ipponmatsu Tenboen is busy with trucks coming and going but not much other activity until a JA market opens selling vegetables, mikan and kaki (persimmon). Behind the michi no eki building there is a view down over a wide, flat valley and beyond to a wider flatter sea. The shining fields stretching to the far hills appear to be salt beds and there are clearly canals running from the sea. Some fields are flooded but others appear black. I thought, at first, they were solar panels but there are no connecting power lines so they […]

23/02/2019 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Abo Toge / Abo Pass　安房峠

Summer 2018, Michi no eki Fuketsu no sato is a busy michi no eki on the main route between Matsumoto and Takayama. Consequently, a lot of tour buses stop here and it is on the Highland Kamikochi and Norikura bus lines. Thunder in the night and the day breaks cloudy with intermittent rain. After driving towards Matsumoto, to take advantage of the cheaper gasoline, we U-turn towards Takayama. Skirting the town, we have wandered its crowded tourist sites in the rain before and have no desire to do so again, we head slowly on R. 173 towards Gujo Hachiman. Having time on our hands we plan to check a few […]

28/01/2019 / Last updated : 10/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Yatsugatake Highlands and Suwa Taisha　八ヶ岳、諏訪大社

Day 69, November 2016, Kiyosato Highland　　清里高原 A very wet night but, we woke to a warm morning of weak sunshine, golden hills and Onbashira paraphernalia. Onbashira is the crazy festival, held every 7 years, when the locals ride tree trunks down a very steep hillside, hoping not to get killed. We decide to visit Kiyosato Highland, a place D. used to visit as a child. As the road starts to climb, the clouds roll in and cover everything. This mist lends a truly mysterious air to the larch forests and we drive gently through mist wreathed trees. Sometimes, we stop at viewing spots or parking places. We can see nothing […]

20/10/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Shirakami Sanchi, World Heritage Site　白神山地

summer 2018, Michi-no-eki Tsuruta proves to be very hot in the early morning sunshine and not a scrap of parking in the shade. Our plan is to head for the Nihonkai (Japan Sea) via Shirakami Sanchi. The road we want to take, we discover, is 50km. of dirt track so we find an alternative. Aqua Green Village Anmon in Shirakami Sanchi First we skirt around Mt. Iwaki, sharp and clear against a cloudless, blue sky. Just one or two small clouds clinging to the middle reaches of the mountain. At Aqua Green Village Anmon we stop to take a walk in the Beech woods. This place, Anmon, is the starting […]

20/10/2018 / Last updated : 10/05/2023 d.d Festival

Goshogawara Neputa Festival 2018 五所川原ねぷた

Kayano Plateau　　萱野高原 Leaving michi-no-eki Namioka, we make for Sukayu. We have to be back at Honda in Aomori city by one to have a new part fitted and plan to picnic lunch at the Kayano Plateau. As we reach Sukayu, the weather is closing in and we are driving in misty rain. As we drive around the ring of Mt. Hakkoda the Aomori side is experiencing a bright, sunny though blustery day. The Kayano Plateau is on the west side so in sunshine. We walk a little on the grassy plain and have lunch before heading to Honda. The part is fitted before we have finished our complementary coffee. Our […]

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